The present invention generally relates to an appliance, a system and a method for correcting habits of an oral cavity. More specifically, the present invention relates to an appliance, a system and a method for correcting habits of an oral cavity of a patient in resting periods which may prevent abnormal swallowing patterns, abnormal tongue posturing, abnormal lip posturing. Further, the appliance, the system and the method may prevent improper tongue placement and/or poor tongue coordination during speech. The appliance may be preformed or may be customized in a one-size-fits-all version or in various sizes for wearing the appliance on an upper dentition or on a lower dentition of the patient. The appliance may move and/or may maintain a tongue of a patient at an elevated position during swallowing movements by the patient.
A shelf may be formed in the appliance for preventing the tongue from moving into an abnormal position with respect to the lower jaw. The appliance may have one or more first projections which may extend inwardly with respect to the oral cavity and/or the tongue of the patient. The appliance may have one or more second projections which may extend rearwardly with respect to central incisors in the upper dentition of the patient. The appliance may have one or more slots for receiving the upper dentition of the patient. A front of the appliance may have one or more third projections which may extend inwardly with respect to a labial area of the patient. An upper front margin of the appliance may move and/or may maintain the appliance within a mouth of the patient as the mouth of the patient may open in a sleeping period of the patient. A lingual tab may be formed on the appliance for maintaining a lower jaw of the patient in a forward position with respect to an upper jaw of the patient.
It is generally known that a care provider, such as, for example, a dentist or an orthodontist examines teeth and/or a mouth of a patient to determine abnormal oral functions of the patient. The care provider provides an orthodontic appliance to be worn by a patient for correcting, for reducing and/or for minimizing the abnormal oral functions of the patient. The abnormal oral functions of the patient which may be correctable via the orthodontic appliance may be, for example, a finger sucking habit, a thumb sucking habit, abnormal swallowing patterns, abnormal tongue posturing, abnormal lip posturing, concommitant speech problems, poor tongue placement and/or poor tongue coordination.
For example, the patient may be a child having a thumb sucking habit and/or a finger sucking habit which may continue and/or may persist after adult front incisors erupt into a mouth of the child. The adult front incisors typically erupt as the child becomes seven (7) years old. The thumb sucking and/or the finger sucking after the adult front teeth erupt may result in abnormal tongue coordination by the child which is involved in abnormal swallowing patterns, concommitant speech problems and/or malocclusions of one or more teeth of the child. Further, the thumb sucking and/or the finger sucking prevents permanent incisors from fully erupting into a normal vertical position, into a normal horizontal position and/or into normal occlusal positions resulting in an open bite in the mouth of the child.
However, traditionally, the orthodontic appliance is a custom-made orthodontic appliance which is only capable of correcting, reducing and/or minimizing one of the abnormal oral functions of the patient. As a result, two or more orthodontic appliances are required to correct and/or to minimize more than one of the abnormal oral functions of the patient. Since the orthodontic appliance is custom-made, the orthodontic appliance is only capable of being worn by a single patient and may not be produced to be worn by one or more patients having various sizes and shapes of dentitions. Moreover, the orthodontic appliance may be expensive and/or may be inconvenient to produce and/or to manufacture because the orthodontic appliance must be customized to the dentition of each patient.
A need, therefore, exists for an appliance, a system and a method for correcting habits of an oral cavity. Additionally, a need exists for an appliance, a system and a method for correcting habits of an oral cavity which may be manufactured in a preformed version or in a custom-made version to be worn on a dentition of a patient. Further, a need exists for an appliance, a system and a method for correcting habits of an oral cavity which may correct, may treat, may reduce and/or may minimize more than one abnormal oral function of a patient. Still further, a need exists for an appliance, a system and a method for correcting habits of an oral cavity which may be manufactured and/or may be produced in a one-size-fits-all version or in various sizes to be worn on a dentition of a patient. Moreover, a need exists for an appliance, a system and a method for correcting habits of an oral cavity which may correct and/or may treat a finger sucking habit, a thumb sucking habit, abnormal swallowing patterns, abnormal tongue posturing, abnormal lip posturing, concommitant speech problems, poor tongue placement and poor tongue coordination. Furthermore, a need exists for an appliance, a system and a method for correcting habits of an oral cavity which may provide one or more slots, one or more projections, a lingual shelf, an upper front margin and/or a lingual tab to correct and/or to treat the habits of the oral cavity of a patient.